


gods amongst humans

by tauri



Category: Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Community: 31_days, Gen, Post-Geosenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-10
Updated: 2015-12-10
Packaged: 2018-05-06 00:56:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5396810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tauri/pseuds/tauri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Following the fall of Team Flare, Augustine has some matters to attend to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	gods amongst humans

**Author's Note:**

> 31_days challenge: 03-11-2015 - "the spirits of the gods". Written a little too late to post to the community at the time or during the November fic amnesty period, but here it is.

On a day-to-day basis, the Sycamore Research Laboratory was usually a fairly relaxed place to conduct business. There was enough space for each member of the facility to carry out their own research under Augustine's kind and enthusiastic guidance, and enough time available to dedicate to any task needed. Therefore, it was an unusual occurrence for Augustine to step in that morning to the clamour of voices, both in the reception area and further beyond; it was unusual, but it wasn't _unexpected_. He'd known, from the moment that he'd woken up and reality had filtered into his conscious mind, that this was how it would be. His phone had been ringing off the hook with messages. (He hadn't looked at his Holo Caster.) His usual routine would have taken him to Lysandre Cafe, but--... ( _There's no time to think of that now._ )

He'd made coffee in his own kitchen, aware that he was spinning out the length of time before he _really had_ to be at the laboratory. Part of him was surprised that he hadn't had members from the laboratory ringing his buzzer already - it had been early, but not _that_ early. He'd known that there would be others there before him, and that his dawdling was increasing the amount of responsibility that immediately fell to their shoulders for the duration of time that he wasn't there to deal with it; it was selfish, and he knew that it was unfair. That thought had been, eventually, what had finally motivated him into action.

There were so many things to be taken care of; the receptionist was the first point of contact, and the moment she put down her phone, it rang again with the next person demanding information. Largely the press, but not entirely. She'd been told what to say and was doing an excellent job of it, but was still rushed off of her feet. Similarly, the contacts of the laboratory members were getting in touch for various reasons - or had passed their information on, for _other_ reasons. There had been stragglers outside of the lab wanting his attention, but he'd smiled and told them that he had things to take care of.

" _Generally, you will be left to your own devices,_ " Rowan had once told him. " _However, every once in a while... very occasionally, you may be called on to handle something much larger. You never know when it's likely to happen; just be aware of it, Augustine. Prepare yourself for it._ "

Augustine hadn't been too sure what Rowan had meant at the time, but those words were the first ones to echo in his mind as he made his way up to his office space. He was stopped several times before then, asking for advice and on how to deal with the situation that was unfolding; he gave his own advice as best as he could, already longing for the next moment that would allow him time to gather his thoughts.

The demands for his attention generally took three different approaches. Firstly, his opinion on the downfall on Team Flare was desired, as the Pokémon Professor of Kalos; Team Flare had been behind too many criminal activities - mostly involving Pokémon - during the past while, and Augustine knew it was absolutely within his position to have something to say about that. He had to draw up an official statement - that would almost be the easiest part of his day, he felt. Something about how the region was now safe from Team Flare's crimes, and that residents of Kalos should cherish their Pokémon, and always remember to keep an eye out for any untoward activities in the future, to be on the safe side. Optimism tempered with sensible advice, something along those lines.

The second approach they took was smaller, but more focused. It was common knowledge that Augustine had been well-acquainted with Lysandre, and he had often been seen at Lysandre Cafe of a morning; now that word had got out of Lysandre's involvement in Team Flare, that had become the hottest piece of gossip for the mass communications to dissect. _Did you know that he was going to do something like this? Did you agree with his ideals? Should we be investigating if Professor Sycamore himself was involved with Team Flare?_ (Augustine was confident enough in his lack of involvement with Team Flare alongside his lack of knowledge of their actions to not worry too much about that, but it was still a worry nonetheless.) Again, such things required official statements, considered thought, and careful wording.

(One of the first messages on his Holo Caster was from an anonymous source - " _I know you knew nothing about this. You shouldn't have to get involved. If you need press silencing, contact me._ " They'd left no name, but they'd left a number. The further the day progressed, the more Augustine thought about taking them up on their offer.)

The final point was one that came up with far less frequency than the other two, despite Augustine feeling that it was perhaps the most important element of the issue at hand overall. " _Team Flare was foiled by your students, were they not? Where are they now? Can you tell us how they feel about this? Did you always see that potential within them?_ "

Augustine had spent the last part of the previous day in Couriway; in the immediate aftermath of what had happened, he knew that, more than anything, making contact with those children was the most important thing. Everything involving Team Flare and the press could wait: as a Pokémon Professor, he had a duty to the trainers beneath him, to his students. He needed to know how they felt, but not so those feelings could be passed on to the press. What had happened had been a dangerous and frightening experience - they'd survived, they'd _won_ , but the process of that victory couldn't be ignored. They'd fallen into something risky, and had had the determination and good fortune to emerge unscathed - _but it could just as easily have ended differently_. Augustine was sure that they'd contacted their parents afterwards anyway, but made his own phone calls in the meantime as a backup, just to be safe. Just so those parents knew that their children were safe, and that they were being watched over. That he would continue to watch over them.

As far as he could discern, their most important priority was to continue on with their Pokémon journey. Team Flare was but one event in that long adventure; following the meeting at Couriway they would then head over to Snowbelle City, in order to challenge the gym there. There were still battles to fight, badges to be won, the promise of the Pokémon League hanging over them. Augustine hoped that the press had better things to do than hound a group of children for their perspective on those events; to be safe, he'd sent Sina and Dexio out first thing to keep an eye on them out on the field. He trusted them out there, and felt confident in being able to focus on his immediate duties once he'd got confirmation from those two.

He let the trainers know that they could contact him at any time, about anything. If they needed advice or if they didn't know what to do next, he was determined to be there for them. And there, amongst all of the calls from the press and onlookers, came the cluster of communication he'd been expecting. Having received word from the other professors, he set himself up in his office and prepared for a conference call.

 

\----

 

There was something about being in Professor Rowan's presence - even indirectly - that made Augustine feel like a student all over again. _Not that I ever stopped_ , he supposed, but it was easy to forget in the moment that he was an established professor with years of experience behind him when he was caught in the glare of _those_ eyes once more.

"... Of course, it isn't as if such things don't have precedence. Indeed, it seems as if there is a Pokémon of legend within a region, they are most likely to reveal themselves to these children."

Augustine smiled gently. "... And there haven't been any incidents up to this point, have there?"

"Not to this point, no. The latest part in that puzzle, however, lies squarely upon your shoulders." (Augustine knew that Professor Rowan didn't mean that as an accusation, but it wasn't hard to take it that way, just for a moment. He shifted in his seat and turned his attention to Professor Juniper, who had a quietly distracted expression.)

"Augustine, you've sent over all the information available on Yveltal, right?"

"As much as we've been able to gather, yes."

"At least Team Flare were unable to use its potential as part of their plan... that would truly have meant the end of everything. Even now, Yveltal still has that potential..." She sighed deeply. "But it chose that trainer, right? We can't discount the feelings of the Pokémon in this situation..."

"I've let them know that they can contact me if they have any problems, but it's early days for that, yet. Their main goal remains the Pokémon League, of course. Quite admirable."

"I see. I suppose there isn't much more we can do, for now? There's no reports of Yveltal having any adverse effects in regards to humans, Pokémon, or the surrounding area, so I suppose as far as we can tell it's... mostly safe? All we know is of its legend, of it 'absorbing life' at 'the end of its lifespan'. Even if we were to take it as fact that it lives for a thousand years, we still don't know when that time will run out, when it was born, what will happen to those around it should that lifespan end... we should probably work under the assumption that everything is fine, unless the situation suddenly changes. That may be all we can do."

Rowan fixed Augustine with another piercing stare. "The responsibility is yours, Augustine. The Pokémon has given its powers to this trainer, but that trainer is still under your care. That Pokémon was to be used as a weapon; it may never fall into that circumstance again, but we need to make sure that the situation isn't a likelihood to begin with. I understand the Team Flare situation came as a surprise to you?"

In that case, it _was_ an accusation. Augustine had mentioned Lysandre in passing many times previously in his communications with the other Pokémon Professors. Sometimes under the context of research, sometimes due to discoveries that Lysandre had made - or sometimes during an off-duty chat, most often with Aurea, mentioning how great the coffee was at Lysandre Cafe and how, if she was ever to take the journey from Unova to Kalos, they would _definitely_ have to go there together sometime. And then _this_ , which of course had been reported as soon as it had happened, and _there_ was Professor Rowan, giving the inevitable admonishing. Augustine glanced downward, nodding. "... It did."

"Your trust in others is commendable; I honestly believe that. I'm not blaming you, Augustine, I just think--... I think the realisations will come only in time. Looking back on things that were said or done, realising their context in hindsight. I would never wish for your trust in others to fade. But certainly in the situation of this trainer, we need to be cautious... I have every confidence that they will grow to be an outstanding citizen of Kalos, one who would never consider using the power in their grasp for any untoward use. _However_ , we must entertain that outcome as a possibility. Only as a possibility, Augustine. One in which we have, nonetheless, planned the outcome."

"I understand."

"Your trainers achieved a great thing, Augustine. Be proud of them. And yourself! Look up, and stand proud. Guide those children, so you may be as proud of them as I am of you."

(Augustine looked up at that point, surprised by Rowan's sincerity, although not quite enough not to notice the grin that Aurea was giving him from her monitor screen.)

 

\----

 

Augustine stood in the field off of Rivière Walk, looking up at the huge destruction Pokémon that hung in the air in front of him and its trainer, leisurely flapping its arm-like appendages. On seeing the Pokémon's height and size, Augustine felt that this had been the right decision; it wasn't that there _wasn't_ room for this at the Sycamore Laboratory, but there was a lot more space here in these flowered fields. The one downside was the constant stares from the surprised trainers from Route 7, but that was unavoidable. Anywhere they went, people would want to bear witness; even from the lab, it was not impossible for the higher-rise buildings of Lumiose to grant visual access to their activities. Its cry, too, was likely audible for quite some distance, but again, there wasn't much that they could do about that.

Despite its size, Yveltal's trainer still knelt in front of it. From their pouch, they presented a Poké Puff; the Yveltal swept its tail out behind it (sending a number of wild Pokémon in the immediate area running), and landed quite delicately on its talons. It seemed quite used to this; it craned its neck downward, pecking at the sweet treat with a surprising gentleness.

"I think it likes the orange ones the most? It doesn't really seem to dislike any of them, though!"

Augustine walked to stand next to the trainer, leaning down slightly with his hands on his knees. "You certainly seem to have made friends with it quickly! It seems so docile. ...Can I touch it?"

"Sure!... I think?" The trainer stood up. "Yveltal, this is Professor Sycamore! He's a friend, okay?"

Yveltal made a noise in response that could almost have been described as 'curious'; Augustine held out his hand for it, and found it nudged by the pointed end of its beak, but not in a way that suggested discomfort. Encouraged by this, Augustine touched his fingers - and then his hand - to the black ridges on its face, allowing it to adjust the desired angle of the touch.

"Nice to meet you, Yveltal!" Again, it made something akin to a chirrup in response to this. Still gently petting the Pokémon, Augustine half-turned to glance at the trainer. "And you've had no problems so far?"

"Problems? No, nothing... nothing that I can think of, anyway! What kind of problems?"

"Oh, I don't know... it's just, we don't know too much about Yveltal. You're the first known trainer to have captured it! That's a great honour...! And with all unknown things, it can be easy to worry - all of the legends relating to Yveltal are quite... destructive, shall we say. Lysandre wished to harness Yveltal's energy to use in the ultimate weapon - you know that more than anybody else! We're still learning about Pokémon, about all of them, every day. Some Pokémon are better suited to be alongside trainers than others - that's nothing to do with their type as much as it is to do with their personality! We had no way of knowing if Yveltal would get along with you, if it was willing to make friends with a human trainer... but it does look to be that we were worrying for nothing. It's almost hard to believe that this Pokémon was caught up in that terrible incident...!"

"I just treat it like any of my other Pokémon. See, it likes it if you scritch it on its wing right _here_... it likes to eat Poké Puffs, and it gets embarrassed if it knocks over things by accident! It lets me fly on its back, too. Maybe it would let you up there too, Professor? Then you could see Kalos from its back! It can fly so high, it's really exciting."

"Haha, perhaps another time...! I'm just glad to see the two of you getting along so well. I'm sure you'll remain friends for a long time! Do you plan to take it to the Pokémon League?"

"Maybe! There are other Pokémon I'm better with in battle, though. I'm still learning how to battle alongside Yveltal."

"Well, whichever you decide. You know your own Pokémon best, after all."

Having eaten its fill of Poké Puffs, Yveltal kicked itself back into the air, flapping its wings and causing gusts of wind strewn with flower petals around it. This caused a laugh from the trainer, which caused Augustine to smile in turn; it really did seem to be a normal relationship between a Pokémon and a trainer - it just so happened that the Pokémon in question held the potential to destroy all living things, but that lay only as _potential_. An undocumented power that lay at the end of Yveltal's lifespan, whenever _that_ happened to be.

Looking up at the impressive Pokémon, Augustine wondered about that fact. For as long as it remained alongside its trainer, Augustine was quite confident that no external force would trigger that method of destruction. That then left the question of death as natural causes - but nobody knew how long such a Pokémon was likely to live for. As a force of destruction, nobody knew what sort of event could provoke its terrible power - there was simply no way of knowing. _Probably_ , Augustine thought, _it will outlive any of us_. And _then_ what? Perhaps, at that time, Yveltal would be set free. Would it be upset at the loss of its trainer? Again, there was no way of knowing. Such things would have to be dealt with in the future, by their descendents and their successors. Perhaps Yveltal had seen the rise and fall of human civilisations, and this was but one point in a timespan that went back to before any of them could even comprehend.

For now, though, Kalos was at peace. Team Flare had been defeated, and the victorious trainer ran laughing through the field with the huge Pokémon swooping playfully behind them. _This wasn't the world that Lysandre wanted, but..._ Augustine looked up to the sky, clear but for the tiniest lines of cloud above. Perhaps there was still some way to achieve the perfect world that Lysandre wanted? (Perhaps 'perfect' was simply the enemy of 'good'.) He looked back towards Yveltal and the trainer, still playing together in the field in front of him.

"You're just doing your best, aren't you...?"

( _Maybe now there's enough time, and enough space._ )

Augustine lowered himself to the ground, lying back on the grass and amongst the flowers. He closed his eyes, and allowed himself to remember.


End file.
